Timing
by Terina00
Summary: Clint is sent after an assassin. He makes a different call. Friendship story. Rated T for some language.


**Timing**

_Clint is sent after an assassin. He makes a different call._

_This is unbetaed. If anyone would like to beta it, let me know._

* * *

In retrospect, Clint figured it was a simple matter of timing.

It was only days after the little stick had said "positive" that he and a group of other agents were given their briefing on the Red Room. Days he had spent dreaming of things like piggy-back rides and crayon drawings and little league games. Of things like little girls in ballet tutus.

(Of course, a positive stick didn't give a gender, but boys could take ballet too, but that didn't change the fact that he did really want a girl, despite what he told Laura. Having an abusive father sort of did that to a person.)

So, imagining a life of raising a child didn't mesh well with the cold reality of orphan children being brainwashed, tortured, and exploited. It was hard not to think about what could happen to his own child.

Agent Carter did the briefing, as she had been dealing with the organization since the 40's. She was one of the few that knew about Laura, but no one knew about the pregnancy test yet, not even Fury. He attended the briefing and read the reports over the next several days. He immersed himself in the data. He was a professional; he had done this before and could do it again.

Two weeks later, he got information on his target.

* * *

Natasha knew, of course, about S.H.I.E.L.D. The KGB had excellent intel. She had even gone up against them. While she didn't know she was a specific target of their's, she wasn't surprised either. Though short, her career had been impressive thus far.

The assassination of Professor Anton Vanko shouldn't have been especially difficult, but it was never a good idea to underestimate an assignment. If she had known more about the guy they sent after her, she would have laughed. An archer in 2002, really? Instead, she was impressed. He was capable, that was for sure. She didn't go against many people that were capable.

And she hadn't failed before.

What was even more impressive was how he managed to follow her, and how he kept following her. The guy was relentless. He chased her around the world. The weirdest part, though? She learned his moves, his limits, and his abilities. She'd been taught to do so. He had, on several occasions, her dead to rights. But he didn't take the shot.

When he finally caught her, that was ok, she had other ways of getting to men. Other skills. Holed up in some god forsaken S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker, she would get to him. She was confident in her abilities. And she must have overestimated him, as not turning her over to his superiors right away was a stupid-ass move.

* * *

He was infuriating. He seemed immune from all her tricks (was he gay?). In the weeks they'd been in that bunker, he'd asked nothing of her. He didn't sleep with her, he didn't interrogate her, he didn't berate her for the things she'd done. He got her food and toiletries and things to read like honest-to-god newspapers. She had a damn tv she could watch anything she wanted on.

(He was a jailer who didn't control the flow of information; she was a spy who needed information. Why did he give it to her?)

She tried everything she knew. After seduction failed, she taunted him with the things she'd done and how she'd ENJOYED doing them (a lie). She taunted him with the things she'd do to him, to his country, to the people he loved.

Nothing.

To say he didn't talk to him would be a lie. He did. But only about things of non-importance. Sports. Places to visit. How to best to catch a damn fish. He would have likely talked about the weather if she'd had a window to see it. (Why didn't he? He went outside and saw the weather.)

He'd comment on whatever they were watching on TV. He'd monologue about the best Star Wars movie. She tried watching something in Russian. He commented on it in fluent Russian.

It was fucking torture.

* * *

She did eventually break. She spent a week begging him to tell her what he wanted. Making promises she didn't intend to keep. He ignored her. He kept up his asinine small talk.

Then, one day, he just turned off the TV in the middle of what he was watching. He spun in his chair and bent over, his elbows on his knees and his handles steepled. He closed his eyes for a moment, put his head down, open them, and looked her straight in the eyes.

"My name is Clint Barton," he said. "I know what they did to you. I want better for you."

He elaborated on exactly what he knew. He laid out the bare facts of her training, her childhood. He elaborated on how it was wrong, how no one should ever go through what she did, and how she should have been treated. He explains he wants to give her another chance.

She didn't buy it, not really. But the KGB had taught her to have no loyalty to anyone; it was the only way to become the monster she was. The unintended side effect was she wasn't really loyal to the KGB either. So she agreed to go with him to his headquarters. There was likely someone there she could manipulate to get out anyway.

* * *

She only got to hear part of the berating Fury gave Barton, but it likely lasted much longer. They eventually stuck her in a room with the least likely spy ever. She gave Coulson some minuscule information and they set up a room for her. She could bide her time.

That was, until Barton continued to prove what an ass he was.

He came by almost everyday, plopping down on her couch, turning on the TV, and keeping up the small talk. (Really, what was the point of a locked door in a building of spies?) He apparently eventually roped Coulson into it was well, and they were constantly in and out. Sometimes she would join them, just to see what would happen. Nothing different, except that they'd respond to her as if it was completely normal. It was like living in an episode of Friends, which she now had an unfortunate amount of knowledge about, as it was a favorite of the me.

She was wrong about Barton: he really was an incompetent idiot.

* * *

She wasn't allowed to the Triskelion without an escort, but she was allowed a limited amount of movement around the building. That included the cafeteria. She had her own kitchenette which S.H.I.E.L.D. filled with whatever she wanted, but she occasionally frequented the cafeteria. Of course, wherever she went their were whispers and glares and general malice. It didn't bother her.

One day Clint accompanied her; or rather, convinced her to go with him. They had sat down to eat when he heard the whispers. His face changed. He got up, walked over to the gossipers, and let them have it in a strong, cold voice. He said a lot of things, but what she'd remember later is the part where he said "No one talks about my friends like that."

Friend. Sure.

If it had just been the one time, she could have ignored it. But in the ensuing weeks it happened often. Someone would say something about her and he'd defend her. People he'd been talking with and joking with minutes earlier and he'd chose her over them. There was even the time Fury said something and Clint pulled him aside. She couldn't hear what was said, but she had known his body language for months by then and understood what was meant.

What was even stranger was that somehow this goofy guy who loved Return of the Jedi and went into battle with superpowers with a bow and arrow was respected by those around him. They listened to him.

He's crashed on her couch, again, watching a rerun of the Simpsons when she finally breaks again.

She yells at him. Tells him how big of an idiot he is. How she could kill him and betray them at any moment. How she has planned to several times.

She tells him, again, the things she's done. The people she's hurt and killed and betrayed. She describes how she watched them bleed out. She describes in intricate detail how she's tortured.

She tells him they're not friends. She doesn't care about him. She is a monster.

She. Is. Not. A. Good. Person.

When she stops, he stares at her for a minute, still hunched on the couch. Then he gets up, mumbles "I have to make a call," and leaves.

Well, good. He finally gets it.

Except 5 minutes later he's back and saying "We're going on a trip."

* * *

She doesn't know what to expect, but the Quinjet ride doesn't take as long as it should, and before long they're in some non-descript car driving up to a farm. It's an honest-to-goodness farm, complete with a damn dog barking at the door. Sometimes she thinks America is as stereotypical as it seems.

Unless, of course, this is a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base, in which case it would make more sense. The woman approaching the door with a baby in her arms would be decent cover. She's seen better, of course, but she didn't think S.H.I.E.L.D. had it in them. But then Clint puts his arm around the woman and looks at her saying, "Nat, I'd like you to meet my wife, Laura, and our son, Cooper. We're your family now."

* * *

It goes like this for years. Natasha gets pissed at Clint for his loyalty, and he responds by integrating her into his personal life. She tells him how she destabilized a former U.S.S.R.'s country's government, he brings her home for taco night. She details how she killed an entire family, and he makes her watch Cooper when Lila's born. She has a rough mission, and he has her come over and play dress-up. She tells him she has nothing and he says she has them.

He has the kids call her "Aunt Nat" for fuck's sake.

After awhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. starts to trust her, and she starts to be worthy of that trust. Her circle includes some of the most powerful people among them, and she's somehow included in their circles. She gives up the real secrets she holds.

Somehow along the way she becomes loyal; loyal to Clint and loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D.

* * *

Plenty of people at S.H.I.E.L.D. think they have a thing going. Sometimes, she thinks they might have, if not for Laura, Cooper, and Lila. But instead, they have something else. He's the brother she (doesn't think) she's never had and she's the sister he's never had. Their bond is stronger than sex.

He's the only person who's never wanted anything from her. Not her abilities, not her body, not her knowledge. He just wants better for her.

When Coulson calls, she's pissed. She doesn't like being interrupted in the middle of a mission. But then he tells her what happened, and that's it.

It's not just that there isn't anything she wouldn't do for that man. There isn't. But there's also Laura and Cooper and Lila, and how she'll face them if Clint isn't recovered. (Fury will go, sure, but not without her.) How will she tell those kids she now loves more than life that their dad is gone? How will she ever face Laura again?

How would Clint feel knowing the things he's doing? Sure, he's a spy and assassin and has killed before and done things he's not proud of, but he's always done things he can live with. How will he cope with red in his ledger? She would do anything to spare him that. He's the reason she has a conscience.

* * *

In retrospect, he figured it was a simple matter of timing.

Timing that he'd been there when Thor attempted to take back his hammer. Timing that he'd been there when Loki emerged from the portal and was in reach to be brainwashed.

Timing that he's there when Rogers comes looking for Nat to fly the Quinjet.

Timing is tied to luck, and he's never considered himself lucky. He trained like crap because luck isn't something you can count on, training is.

Now, though, he owes timing. He owes it a lot.

* * *

_I read a thing someone wrote a couple years ago about how Age of Ultron would have been better if Laura was Clint's sister and Nat and him were in love. While I fully support everyone's right to their own head cannons, I really disagreed with that idea. I thought Nat and Clint's relationship was more powerful BECAUSE it's not sexual, and that Nat knowing about his family makes Nat's responses in Avengers more powerful. I built this theory in my head._

_I always thought it'd make a good story, but I'm not a good enough author to write it. I can't imagine the full details and dialogue to make it the epic I would want. But a few days ago the idea to write it this way came in my head, and I thought I had enough ideas to at least write this._

_I kind of feel the "becoming a dad" angle is a bit of a comp-out on to why Clint makes "a different call," but I went with it anyway._

_Other notes:_

_I apologize if either seem out of character, especially Nat. It's hard to imagine her at an emotional point where she'd switch sides, since she's such a strong character. I also think I made Clint too goofy, but I don't think he really is; just that she sees him that way at that point._

_I wanted to make sure the math worked. The MCU seems to use the actors and actresses real ages as their fictional ages, which I think it pretty cool. So I did the math to figure some of this out. I had a hard time finding out the birthday of the kid who plays Cooper. I found a picture that said he was 12 in 2015, which makes his birth around 2003 and his conception around 2002. In 2002 Johansson would be 18 and Renner would be 31. Nat's first appearance in the MCU was 2010, which gives her 7 years to become trusted by S.H.I.E.L.D. So yay! It worked._

_Though I read comics, Hawkeye and Black Widow aren't characters I follow in the comics. I did some research to try to use their comic backgrounds to fill in the MCU holes. I don't know how accurate I was._

_Finally, my headcannon says Coulson totally knows about Clint's family._


End file.
